Method and apparatus for remote voice-over or music production and management

Abstract

A desktop application and supporting web site for capturing audio and video recordings is introduced, wherein multiple participants in a collaborative session may be in separate remote locations. The application includes providing a high quality data format for transferring recordings, audiovisual data and the like to a remote network location or computer and a real-time data format for intercommunicating comments and instructions that are not recorded. Peer-to-peer and server-client implementations may be optimized regarding delivery time versus take quality. The desktop application also provides mechanisms for playing back sound and video for participants' reference during a recording, along with synchronized presentations of textual, audio and visual material corresponding to the session.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A processor-implemented method for managing a live recording session including a talent computer for receiving and storing a plurality of takes generated by a talent, and a participant computer of a participant for remotely monitoring the plurality of takes, the talent computer in two-way data communication with the participant computer on a data communication network, the talent computer having a processor and a memory for storing a plurality of programming instructions for executing the method performed exclusively by the processor, the method comprising:
 executing processing instructions for establishing a high quality data format for streaming and storing at least one take generated by a talent during a session; and 
 executing processing instructions for establishing a real-time data format for receiving verbal comments transmitted from the participant computer over the data communications network during the session, where all verbal comments received from the participant computer by the talent computer in the real-time data format during the recording session are played to the talent on the talent computer in real-time and automatically excluded from the storing of the take in the high-quality data format; and 
 executing processing instructions for storing a take generated by the talent during the session, and while the take is being generated, automatically transmitting at least a portion of the take in at least one of the high quality data format and the real-time data format to a designated location on the data communication network. 
 
     
     
       2. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , the storing of the take further comprising:
 executing processing instructions for storing the take generated by the talent in a memory of the talent computer. 
 
     
     
       3. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , the storing of the take further comprising:
 executing processing instructions for saving portions of the take as separate, individual high quality data format files; and 
 executing processing instructions for transmitting the portions of the take to the designated location on the data communication network, wherein the portions of the take are assembled as they arrive at the designated location. 
 
     
     
       4. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , the real-time data format comprising at least one of: an audio data format, a text chat format and a video chat format. 
     
     
       5. The processor-implemented method of  claim 3 , wherein the separate, individual high quality data format files are editable during assembly of the portions of the take. 
     
     
       6. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 executing processing instructions for streaming the take in real time from the talent computer to the participant computer while the take is still in progress. 
 
     
     
       7. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a selection of the take and an indication of the designated location from the participant computer; and 
 transmitting the take from the talent computer to the designated location over the data communication network in response to the selection. 
 
     
     
       8. The processor-implemented method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 executing processing instructions for automatically erasing the take from the talent computer after said transmitting is complete. 
 
     
     
       9. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving audiovisual data corresponding to the session; 
 executing processing instructions for presenting the audiovisual data to at least one of: the talent via the talent computer, the participant via the participant computer and a session observer via a session observer computer; and 
 executing processing instructions for synchronizing the take to the audiovisual data. 
 
     
     
       10. The processor-implemented method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 executing processing instructions for storing the audiovisual data. 
 
     
     
       11. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving script data corresponding to the session; and 
 executing processing instructions for displaying the script data to the talent as a karaoke presentation on a display of the talent computer. 
 
     
     
       12. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , the designated location further comprising at least one of: the participant computer, a second computer, an electronic mail address, a file transfer protocol (FTP) drop-box and a network location of recipients. 
     
     
       13. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising
 executing processing instructions for storing the takes in the real-time data format at the designated location to allow playback of the takes using locally-stored data files comprising the takes. 
 
     
     
       14. The processor-implemented method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 executing processing instructions for synchronizing a starting, stopping, pausing and resuming, rewinding and fast-forwarding, storing and playback of stored takes on the talent computer and the participant computer. 
 
     
     
       15. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 monitoring the session by an additional observer using at least one of a telephone and a computing device connected to the data communication network. 
 
     
     
       16. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a selection of the take for review, 
 in response to the selection, executing processing instructions for automatically initiating a playback of the take on at least two of the participant computer, the talent computer and the designated location. 
 
     
     
       17. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 executing processing instructions for comparing a portion of the take received at the designated location to the portion of the take stored on the talent computer; and 
 when the portion of the take received at the location take does not acceptably match the portion of the take stored on the talent computer, re-transmitting the portion of the take that does not acceptably match. 
 
     
     
       18. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 executing programming instructions enabling the talent computer to receive from the data communication network a selection of a take from the plurality of takes and an identification of the designated location on the data communications network to transfer the take; and 
 in response to the selection, automatically transmitting, over the data communication network, the take from the talent computer to the designated location on the data communication network. 
 
     
     
       19. The processor-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising
 executing processing instructions for providing synchronization information including at least one of time coding and sync marks in at least one of the take and audiovisual data to enable synchronization of the take to the audiovisual data for subsequent playback. 
 
     
     
       20. The processor-implemented method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 executing processing instructions for storing the real-time data format, including the sync marks, on the participant computer to allow instant playback of the take in synchronization with the audiovisual material. 
 
     
     
       21. The processor-implemented method of  claim 20 , further comprising:
 executing processing instructions for transmitting the audio-visual content to a computer of a session observer; 
 executing processing instructions for starting, stopping, pausing, resuming, rewinding, fast-forwarding, storing and playback of the take and the audiovisual material presented to the talent on the talent computer during the takes in synchronization with each other on the talent computer, and 
 executing processing instructions for synchronizing such starting, stopping, pausing, resuming, rewinding, fast-forwarding, storing and playback in real-time between the talent computer and at least one of the participant computer and the computer of the session observer. 
 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 21 , wherein the take and the audiovisual files are automatically deleted from at least one of the talent computer and the computer of the session observer at a time specified by the participant by receiving a command from the participant computer over the data communication network. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 21 , wherein at least one of music and text corresponding to the session is presented with the audio-visual material on at least one of the talent computer, the participant computer and the computer of the session observer. 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 23 , wherein at least one of the participant computer and the computer of the session observer can modify the presentation of the at least one of music and text.